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Election Commission closes Brotherton precinct

The Putnam County Election Commission has voted to close the voting precinct at the Brotherton Community Center.

Jim Herrin | Herald-Citizen file

Posted
Thursday, April 18, 2019 11:56 am

BY JIM HERRIN

Putnam County residents who had been voting at the Brotherton Community Center precinct will have to make their way to Algood Elementary School in the next election.

The county Election Commission voted Wednesday to close the Brotherton precinct and consolidate it with the Algood Outside precinct, which is located at the school.

"No one has showed up to a single meeting to oppose the Brotherton closing," said commission chair Phil Adams, adding that neither of the county commissioners who represent the area has heard from any constituents. Adams said officials received three letters asking that Brotherton be kept open, but said the number of voters at the precinct does not justify that.

"Right now, we don't have enough voters to sustain it," he said. "It doesn't mean in a few years we can't turn that around if the population grows."

Commissioner Linda Daniel said the decision would also hinge on whether the community can effectively resolve ongoing building maintenance issues at Brotherton.

"If they could get that center up and running, and if the people that live there would take an interest in getting that going, we'd be happy to re-open it," she said. "The people are going to have to express a need for that. If they would get on board with asking the county to give funds to upgrade this building, we don't have a problem with having a precinct (there.)"

Administrator of Elections Debbie Steidl said the voters affected by the closure will be notified.

"We will have to publish a notice of the consolidation in the paper and mail to each active voter a new card," she said. "We'll do that. Then we mail the change of consolidation to the Office of Local Government and to the (state) Election Office."

In a related vote, the Election Commission voted to keep the Buffalo Valley precinct open rather than consolidate it with one in the Boma community. Several residents of Buffalo Valley had voiced support for keeping Buffalo Valley open, and officials say that community center is in better shape than Brotherton.

Adams said other precincts with a small amount of active voters may also be considered for consolidation in the coming months.

"We have another one or two locations that we want to look at," he said. "We will be looking to determine whether it's worth closing another one or two to best serve the tax dollars, as much anything, because of low turnout."

Also Wednesday, commissioners voted to reappoint Steidl for another two-year term. They also voted to re-elect Adams as chair and Daniel as secretary.